Reference

The Windows desktop deadline calendar

Desktop software rarely moves because someone decided it was old. It moves because an external date arrives: a runtime leaves support, a regulation starts to bite, an operating system stops being patched. These are the dates that put Windows applications on a board agenda.

28 Jun 2025European Accessibility Act applies to consumer-facing products and services.EN 301 549 is the harmonised standard; its software chapter covers desktop applications.
14 Oct 2025Windows 10 end of support. Extended Security Updates begin for organisations that pay and consumers who enrol.
11 Sep 2026Cyber Resilience Act reporting obligations begin. Actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents must be reported through the single reporting platform.24-hour early warning, 72-hour full notification, 14-day final report.
13 Oct 2026Microsoft Access 2021 leaves support. Access 2016 and 2019 already have.Access LTSC 2024 runs to October 2029.
14 Oct 2026Windows 10 commercial ESU year one ends. Year two costs $122 per device, double year one.
10 Nov 2026.NET 8 and .NET 9 end of support. .NET 10 becomes the only supported runtime for modernised WinForms and WPF applications.If you upgraded off .NET Framework in the last three years, this is your next move.
13 Jan 2027.NET Framework 4.6.2 end of support. Versions 4.7 to 4.8.1 continue to follow the Windows lifecycle.
12 Oct 2027Windows 10 consumer ESU ends after its second, extended year.
11 Nov 2027.NET 12 released as the next long-term support version.
11 Dec 2027Cyber Resilience Act applies in full. Secure by default, machine-readable SBOM, documented vulnerability handling, a declared support period, conformity assessment and CE marking.Penalties reach €15m or 2.5% of global turnover.
10 Oct 2028Windows 10 commercial ESU ends at the close of year three, at $244 per device.
14 Nov 2028.NET 10 end of support.
10 Jan 2029.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 end of support — the last of the classic frameworks with a date of its own.

Passed Within twelve months Later

Dates are taken from Microsoft’s published lifecycle pages and the European Commission’s Cyber Resilience Act guidance, and were last checked on 3 September 2026. Lifecycle dates do move; check the source before you plan a budget around one.

What each of these usually means in practice

A date on this list is not automatically a project. It becomes one when it collides with something else — a customer questionnaire, an insurance renewal, a Windows 11 rollout, or the person who wrote the application handing in their notice.

If you are not sure which of these apply to you, that is exactly what a Focused Health Check answers in five days.

Ask about your application

Runtime end of support

No security patches. Increasingly, no support from component vendors either, and a failed answer on customer security questionnaires.

Operating system end of support

Your application still runs, but your customers’ IT departments are being told to remove the machines it runs on.

Cyber Resilience Act

If you place software on the EU market, you are a manufacturer under this regulation, whatever the size of your company.

Accessibility

Not every desktop application is in scope — but public-sector, banking and health buyers will ask for evidence regardless.